Friday night found me sitting on one of many long pine benches that make up a set of bleachers, shoulder to shoulder, about as close as you’d ever want to sit with anyone.  To my left, a client and former Duke grad, his two sons and nephew.   On the other side me was a friend I hadn’t seen in 17 years.  To the front of me a couple of co-workers.   Behind me and throughout the rest of the gymnasium was ENTHUSIASM in all caps!  It was great!

We were there, ESPN was there, and everyone else was there to see the showdown.  It didn’t disappoint.

Did I mention that Friday night I was at a high school basketball game?

I just so happen to live about 40 minutes from Winter Park High School.   Winter Park High School just so happens to have on its roster the number one ranked high school basketball player in the entire country.   That player is Austin Rivers, who just so happens to be the son of former NBA player and current Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers.

I’ve seen Austin play twice in the past two weeks and while I could write on and on about how he dropped 38 points against the number two team in the country, often against either the #3 or #49 ranked players in the country, and how it was done so inspiringly smooth and rich, I won’t.  I could do that, but that post will come later when I play Austin 1-on-1.   [OK, so I don’t have that game lined up just yet, but if you’re reading this Austin, wanna play? ]

This post isn’t about how great Rivers is and let me tell you, the Duke signee is special (see video of Friday’s game below).

This post is about how a normal Friday evening in a high school gymnasium can bring people together, strengthen relationships new and old and be filled with all the excitement and fun one would ever venture after, for the low price of $10.

Every holiday and event, every birthday and anniversary, has for so many become about the amount spent rather than the value gained.  Hand raised, I admit, I’m part of the hoopla.

Two weeks ago when I went to see Rivers play (just $5) and then again this past Friday, I was reminded that you can still have a lot of fun with friends without having to release dozens of hard earned dead presidents.

If you’re a hoops fan, I encourage you to check out the ESPNU’s player rankings and see if you have a future NBAer playing in a dimly lit gym near you.  Even if you don’t, go see your local high school team play.   Sit close to people you may or may not know, on seats that dream of padding, in a place filled with passion.  It will be a great reminder that return on investment has little to do with the amount invested.

What are your favorite things to do that are light on the wallet, but high on return?

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Austin Rivers Going OFF for 9 in a row Friday Night against #2 St. Patricks! (Video)

Click play, sit back, watch and listen.  Outstanding performance (38 points)!  Amazing atmosphere!

[blip.tv ?posts_id=4660041&dest=-1]

[If you are reading this via email or RSS, the video may not show up, so click here to watch the video.]

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Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

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If you’re new to the site, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan.  This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph! 

I’ve had that question going through my mind lately.  It’s interesting because looking back, I definitely see things I could have worked on more to become a more complete player.  Like all goals, the first step is to quantify and answer what does being a better basketball player look like to me?

At 21 that was an easy question to answer.  Be dominate on the court.

At 33, to be fair, I suppose I will hold to that same criteria.

Dominate defined as offensively being a consistently large contributor to my team’s success; Defensively being able to match up with the opposing team’s best offensive player on most nights.

Just thinking about what I just typed, wore me out.

When I was younger the outcome of a pick up game could totally affect my day/night.  If I played well, things were well.  If someone got the best of me or I didn’t perform to my capabilities, I couldn’t wait to get back on the court, work on my game and prove myself again.

I guess that is commonly known as drive.  The drive to be dominant was there.

As I have aged over the years, that drive has diminished for basketball, as I have poured my energy into other avenues of life.  It took awhile for this to happen though.

In the beginning, meaning through the ages of 23-27 I would still find myself up at the local courts alone hoisting shot after shot.  I’d get there right after work before everyone else showed up to play at night.  Sometimes, I would do that daily for weeks until I felt my legs and shot come back.  I would then ease into games and before I knew it I was playing well again.  It was fun.  It was also empty.

After I achieved the goal, which was to be dominate in my own way, I would think…what now?  It became something I would do over and over again.  Work would pull more time from me, taking me away from the game and then I would go through the process of getting back into it. The process was fun.  The fulfillment of showing up at the court and playing well against younger players and being known at the court was fun.

Fun, just wasn’t a big enough reason for me to stick with it.

Perhaps I was having the internal struggle of where I should be focusing my time and energy.  I remember thinking when I was 26 that if I take the energy I put into basketball, and place it into work, I would see my income rise substantially.  I did and it did.  Basketball took a back seat.

I’m sure most of us face that dilemma at some point in our lives.  The realization that what you are doing will never be more than a hobby/activity and how much time should really be dedicated to that activity.  That can only be answered by each individual, as we all have different life/growth goals.

Truthfully, I have played basketball longer than I have done anything in my life.  I always wondered when I was 16 years old running up and down the court, if I would be the old guy still trying to make the dream happen.  I used to tell myself no and most of me still believes that.  What I do appreciate more today is that maybe it was more about just having an enjoyable time, than it was about a dream for those guys.

What I’ve come to realize is that it’s ok for fun to be the end goal.

It’s ok to not have a financial benefit beyond the equals sign.

Life is so fleeting. I’d rather fill what remains with as many enjoyable experiences as possible. I’d rather do something…just because it’s fun.

The question I began with still remains.

Can I be better at 33 than I was at 21?

Time will tell.

There will be a big difference this year as I am using the goal of matching up with MJ as my fuel.  If I get that chance, I want to be at my best. Even though I know it won’t matter how good I am when we play (gotta believe it will happen), deep down I don’t want Mike to think I’m a chump:-)

me vs. MJ…hopefully coming soon.

Ok, time to go work on my game and have fun:-)  See ya at the courts!